This is the batch #8779 packaged on October 9, 2008. Larry Bell talked about in his Oct 7th forum posting. Thanks to Larry for sending more hop goodness to IL.

A: Nice slightly orange tinged head. Poured a finger and a half - nice and fluffy. Hazy, dark amber liquid with some lively corbonation. Great lacing. A third of a finger head stayed around for the entire drink.

S: Caramel malt. A soft warm floral hop with a touch of citrus and alcohol.

T: Round, malty taste that moves quickly into floral tones and a nice strong, clean citrus hop bitter aftertaste that is reminiscent of grapefruit. Nice progression and nicely balanced. Is this really about 8.5 ABV? It certainly has a nice warming alcoholic effect.

M: Medium bodied. Nice medium/light carbonation that along with the hop, creates a nice clean mouthfeel. There is also some alcoholic smoothness.

D: A good solid drink. Tasty! It's drinkable but deceptively strong. A nice Double IPA. This brew brings up much discussion about Two Hearted and I'd like to try that brew too.

After the review, Larry Bell was nice enough to BM me that this batch of Hopsolution is 8.0 ABV. (1,140 characters)

12oz bottle pours into my glass a very hazy amber orange with an inch of creamy eggshell head on top of the brew. Aromas start with big floral hops with resinous green herbal notes. Quite fruity as well with a bit of a sweet caramel backbone. Interesting fruity/hoppy mix.

First sip brings a fruity / caramel malt upfront that has a bit of sweetness to it. It moves into big floral, herbal hops midway through. Somewhat spicy as well. Bitterness kicks in on the way down, but the malty sweetness remains on the finish as well. Quite a tasty, interesting brew!

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with a solid medium body. Goes down easily. Overall, an interesting brew from Kalamazoo, but I'm not sure I really like the fruity/malty aspects of it and it still leaves me longing for a six pack of Two Hearted!! Cheers to Kalamazoo for making a intriguing IPA. (856 characters)

Had on tap at the Bryant Lake Bowl: rich grains and hops, some pine and grass. This also has a light fruit sweetness up front and then is balanced by the hop – there is a lingering grapefruit in the finish. (208 characters)

First of all, if no one else has already said so... this beer is called "Hopsoulution" (not Hopsolution)...a for-IL-only-beer made by Bell's of Kalamazoo, MI.

This bottle pours a nice amber color with a small head which lingers on and on. The aroma is nice, but something I've never quite experienced before. The closest thing I can compare it to is Sam Adams Imperial Pilsner with its Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hops. Still, it's not quite the same thing. I think I still prefer the SA brew, but this is really nice too! Whatever the case, this is certainly NOT your usual American DIPA. The hops in this brew make it unique. Kudos to Bell's for using this experimental German-hop variety...Smagard/Smaragd/????/etc. I'd love to see this brew made on a regular basis, but I fear this is the only time we'll ever see it. Oh well...whatever the case..."good job" to Bell's! (870 characters)

Brown appearance, already had me taken aback. Cream head, good size. Aroma was lagery and hoppy at the same time.

Big malt presence, but easily counter balanced by the ample hopping, which did not seem typical to style.

I had this about the same time Oracle came out last year, and thought they were both unique dipas in a world of too similar ones. This one had less bitterness and citrus feel to it, but was probably the more unique one. This had more of a nutty exterior, less citrus hopping, fuller malt body, less sweetness, way more creamy mouthfeel to it.

An interesting take on the style. Worth checking out. Not like any of the other Bell's hoppy offerings. Well, or pretty much anyone else's. If you like different, this one is for you. (752 characters)

Of course, it tastes hoppy... earthy flavors. Very smooth and malty. Touches of caramel are present but are in no way dominant. A little spice kicks in after the gulp.

It's very creamy and finishes clean. I know this is a double but it's nowhere near as in your face as some of th either DIPAs out there. The reviewer that said that it's a toned down 90-minute is dead on. In fact, this is very similar to DFH but different enough to be sought out. The alcohol is present, but I think I could session this rather easily.

Very glad to have scored a sixer of this before the well runs dry. My fellow Chicagoans... go get this while you can. Bell's is officially back with this concoction. (919 characters)

A- This beer has a thick creamy light beige head and a deep caramel colored body with a good carbonation of tiny bubbles that glide through it.

S- The soft citrus juice note gives way to a green hops note with a slight earthiness to it. There is a soft caramel malt note that comes through a bit.

T- The light caramel malt sweetness has a dry toast note to it and a green pine hops flavor that is a bit herbal. The hops also have a cinnamon/clove spice to it minus the cinnamon/clove flavor. There is a nice bitter green hop note to the finish that has a slight lemonhead flavor to it.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a no alcohol heat at all.

D- This beer has some nice hops flavors and a good presence of malt but the hops and malt flavors tasted a bit awkward together. It was not offensive but just a bit odd. Still an ok IPA. (883 characters)

Pours an amber color with a finger of head. Almost no aroma at all which I thought was unusual for a DIPA. No hop smell whatsoever. The first taste has a hint of hops, but not nearly as much as I expected. I think that the hops may have faded as this was a trade bottle and I don't know how old it is. Still tastes well balanced and there is nowhere near the alcohol taste I would expect from something so strong. Dangerously drinkable, I would definitely like to try some that I knew was fresh to see if there was more hoppiness. (530 characters)